


Blame the Emojis

by Darkforesttrails



Category: The Blackout Club (Video Game)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-24
Updated: 2019-11-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:15:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21539440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkforesttrails/pseuds/Darkforesttrails
Summary: When a data gathering mission doesn't go quite as planned, sometimes you just have to blame your own secret codes for the mess up.
Kudos: 3





	Blame the Emojis

One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four...

Your mission here tonight isn't to steal or rescue, it's to watch the enemy movements. You've noticed that they run on largely set patrol patterns. If you can figure out the general way they move, that'll be nothing but a boon for the club when you need to do some stealth. 

The Lucid's footsteps are loud, bouncing off every wall in the hall and disappearing into the air. The pattern is practiced and steady, bearing all the hallmarks of a particularly proud night watchman. 

One, two, three, four. 

You've been watching him for the better part of two and a half hours, your legs going numb from crouching in the dark on a platform likely older than you are. You wince, shifting as quietly as you can on the ancient wood. You learned the hard way that that shit squeaks. 

The Lucid passes by again, his rotation remarkably predictable, right down to the his footprints in the dirt; he's retracing his own steps almost perfectly. His back is straight and his chin is raised high. There's a flashlight clutched in his right hand and even through all the eyes, you're sure that he's got that steely gaze down pat. As soon as he's passed by you, you take the chance to whip out your phone, your fingers flying fast over every one of these godforsaken emojis. You hate communicating in dumbass smiley faces and you're sure you'll be seeing :):):) in your nightmares, you're at least tossing a few numbers in there. 

**[Conclusion: 5.30 minute rotation. Predictable. Watch the west exit.]** Somewhere over the sounds of fading footsteps and cave drips carried on echoed winds, you can just make out the faint tap of nails on plastic as Rosa presumably types out a response. Darren insisted that you don't go alone and Rosa is the only person in the club who will voluntarily sit in the dark and quietly stare at people with you. 

That sounds weirder than it is, in retrospect. 

**[Uh...why did you just tell me to watch out for swimming fish?]**

You send back that one yellow blob with the confused look, your face flushing as you check your last message. Eye, eye, right arrow, fish- Why the hell did that turn into a fish? 

**[He went to the library, should I...keep lookout?] **You almost miss her message as you frantically scroll through your text settings, tapping off your still-activated autocorrect with the fury of 1000 suns. You are not about that life today. 

Begging emoji. You're trying to say please do that thing, but to you, it just looks like you're on your knees and pleading for her to kill you now. Which, if you're being made to choose between learning overly cutesy forms of communication and embracing death where you stand, well. 

It's a toss-up, really. 

Your finger pauses over the send button and you glare at your screen with nothing short of pure hatred bubbling in your stomach. No, no. You can't do this. You can't do this anymore. You're a man of numbers, not art. You erase that stupid beggar, instead responding in real words for once. 

'Yes. Please. Please do that.' The Chorus hackers can have their own field day trying to figure out what that means. Or maybe they'll try so hard that their heads will explode from the effort. One can dream. 

Your phone buzzes again. 

**[By the way, two sets of double eyes is how you say watch out. Eye + eye means you're being watched]**

**[Seriously?]**

**[I understood what you meant though. It would be a little sad if you were being watched by swimming fish. Fish are cute. Lucids aren't cute.]** You can feel a muscle twitching in your forehead, signaling the beginnings of a proper headache. 

**[Why would this]** You add in twelve sets of double eyes for emphasis. **[Mean lookout while this]** Another five single eyes. **[Means we're being watched?]**

**[I don't know. I'm not that smart, Bananaphone. I just write the way we all agreed on.]** You groan. You vaguely hear a giggle from your friend's direction. You forgot that your great and wonderful symbolic code name was now banana + phone, courtesy of your brother. You're going to personally find whoever came up with this crap and petition for them to lose their job if it's the last thing you do. 

**[Yeah, I think I missed that meeting. How isn't this making your double eyes cross?]**

**[Shrug. I'm just used to it.]** In all fairness, Rosa's been in the club longer than you have. And unlike you, she actually lives full time at the boxcar (even if most of the club is convinced she doesn't exist; you've never seen someone so good at not being found). She would be more adjusted to bullshit codes than you are. That doesn't make this series of confusing and unpredictable patterns less stupid, though. There has to be a more effective means of secret conversations. 

You hear footsteps. Before you can look over to investigate, you get another text from Rosa. 

Left arrow, exclamation, exclamation, strawberry, banana, phone, bird. 

You stare at your phone, confused. What does that mean? You give Rosa's general direction a weird look, trying to figure out what the heck those symbols together mean. She steps just far enough into the light to gesture at you, pointing upwards. Finally, her message clicks: Climb higher. Before you can make it more than two steps, though, she pulls her scarf over her face and all but dives into the dark. The Lucid is coming back.

He wasn't supposed to be back for another minute and a half. Sure enough, here comes the Lucid once more, his movements as mechanical as ever. He's mumbling to himself. You can't hear him from where you are, but you can tell from the pitch that he's not happy. You look across the room, catching the glint of Rosa's eyes in the dark. The two of you lock gazes for a second and you feel frozen. What brought him back? Just as you see the top of his head, you hear a chord played in the distance.

"Damn kids..." You faintly catch the words and your throat feels tight as you grip your taser. This feels...ominous. 

"We have reports of a break-in, they say." The Lucid starts, the irritation evident in his voice as he gets steadily louder. "Those kids are in for it now, she says. They want us to speak our thoughts out loud, fine. Here's my thoughts: Ma'am, with all due respect, we always have signs of a break-in. Those fucking kids are in and out of something every single night!" He's moving boxes below you and you swear your blood turns to ice. Did someone mess up above ground? Why is he looking here for signs of a break-in? Did you leave a clue behind when you came down? You thought you'd been careful. Your gaze falls to the ladder next to you and you pray to whatever non-existent deity that isn't listening that he doesn't start climbing it. When you said you'd take death over emojis, this wasn't the end you had in mind. 

His rant is echoing across the cavern now. 

"And every. Damn. Time-" He moves another crate with enough force to make booming thud. You cringe. "-That we get the upper hand on the blackout brats, we lose it completely! And what are we doing about it besides ending up as extra bodies shoved inside another trash can? Absolutely nothing substantial!" He opens a nearby supply crate and slams it shut before starting towards the ladder. Your ladder. The ladder that you used to get up there. Your eyes widen and you stare at him as he moves faster than he rightfully shoulder. He hasn't seen you yet. Your weigh your options. You could go up the second ladder, but that's way too close to the light. This man isn't blind. He's not blind and he's angry. Plus, the sound of the wood is going to tip him off if the light doesn't. If you stay where you are, he's sure to spot you behind this pillar. And if you go all out and make a ruckus to escape then, you risk bringing the entire town after you and Rosa. 

Basically, all your options are terrible and you're so completely screwed. You raise your head to look to Rosa, like she's going to know what to do. You can't see her eyes anymore. 

Your platform shakes as the Lucid slams a hand on top of it to pull himself up. He's so close that you can detect the stench of sweat, mud, and rotten eggs on him. His breath smells like stale bread as he speaks. You lean away from him, trying your best to move back without alerting him. 

"I tell you, if I ever find out my boy is sending us on this run around, you can bet he'll never be leaving my sight again if I have to lock him in this maze myself--huh?" 

SQUEAK. 

"Who's there?" Barks the Lucid as he finishes pulling himself up the ladder. His boots stomp on the platform and the ladder shakes with the motion. He's scarcely made it there before you're covering your face to stop his flashlight from blinding you.

"So this is where you've been hiding! Come here you little-Wait. Darren John-" He doesn't get to finish that sentence. In a last ditch tactical decision, you charged straight into him and his flashlight, taser drawn and shoved as hard into his chest as you can possibly shove. His body jerks and twitches as he stumbles backwards with a shout. As he nears the edge of the landing, you hear the sound of a bolt flying just in time to see a bright purple feather under his arm. He groans, his eyes rolling into his head head as he falls straight backwards. He hits the ground with an eerie crack and lays there, unmoving. 

You stare wide-eyed at Rosa, now fully under the light with her crossbow, her face hidden behind a curtain of hair and a wall of red scarf. She turns away from you, silent. It's like the two of you didn't just cause a grown man to fall several feet onto his back where he probably messed up who knows what in the process. Still panting as you try to calm down your heart, you slide down the ladder, bending down to poke at him. He's...breathing, at least. Your take a second to remind yourself that he's Chorus. He would have gotten you first if you didn't get him. And he doesn't talk or walk like any family member of yours. He gets what he deserves. 

Just thinking that feels so wrong and leaves a nasty sense of guilt bubbling in your stomach.

You'd like to say that you don't know why he called you Darren instead of Will, but really: practically everyone's messed it up at least once. The hazards of being identical. Still. The fact that this is someone who clearly knows you is...worrying, to say the least. You can't say terrifying anymore; you passed the point of terrified ages ago. Now you're just frustrated and tired to the tune of terror. You make a note to warn Darren and watch your back at school. At least if someone shows up to school in a cast, you'll know who you're looking at. You force yourself to stay calm. 

Your phone buzzes. Proper words fill your screen. 

** [Are you okay] **

You look around. You can't see her anymore. Rosa has, once again, done one of her famous vanishing acts. You didn't hear her going up the stairs, though, so she's definitely nearby. 

"I'm fine. I'm...just fine." You don't sound fine. You still can't breathe and your hands are incredibly sweaty right now. Another chord plays, making the wires above your head shake and scream with the effort. The room shakes and you turn to run just in time to see a blur of red and black charging back up the stairs. You follow her, mentally cursing as the chorus of "WE ALL HEAR" plays just behind you. 

So much for data gathering. 

You blame emojis.


End file.
